Managerless São Paulo return after exit, Cruz in charge, Reffis boost | OneFootball

After returning from the embarrassing elimination by Juventude in Caxias do Sul (RS) in the Copa do Brasil, São Paulo’s squad reported back on Thursday afternoon (14) at the Barra Funda training center and began preparations for the match against Fluminense.

Tricolor will reunite with Luis Zubeldía in the clash valid for the 16th round of the Brazilian Championship, which will be played this Saturday (16), starting at 7 p.m. (Brasília time), at the Maracanã.

The session was led by Milton Cruz and James Freitas. Signed in March, James will remain as an assistant on the permanent coaching staff following Roger Machado’s departure, the same role he recently held at Grêmio between 2024 and 2025, and previously at Coritiba, Cerro Porteño-PAR, and Cruzeiro.

The players who logged more minutes against Juventude did recovery work indoors and then ran on the pitch. For the others, there was a ball-possession drill followed by a small-sided game focused on creating plays.

Right-back Lucas Ramon, who missed the last two matches due to a muscle injury in his left calf, took part in every stage of training alongside his teammates, as did defensive midfielder Pablo Maia, who has recovered from surgery to repair fractures in his nose and face, performed on April 10. Both could be new options against Flu.

Center-back Alan Franco, meanwhile, who is recovering from a minor strain in his right adductor and also missed the last two matches, did transition work with the fitness staff and took part in part of the session with the ball.

Also training under the guidance of the fitness staff was defensive midfielder Marcos Antônio, who has been cleared to begin his transition after an injury to the rectus femoris muscle in his right leg.

Substituted in the match in Caxias with pain in the back of his right thigh, forward Luciano underwent imaging tests that diagnosed muscle edema. The No. 10 has already begun treatment at the club.

After the work at Barra Funda, the players were summoned to come out and speak with members of Torcida Independente who went to the training center to demand answers from the squad.

São Paulo will train again on Friday morning (15) to wrap up preparations for the next match and is scheduled to travel to Rio de Janeiro in the afternoon.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.